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1998 BMW 528 SE with blown head gasket.
John P - 29/3/13 at 02:55 PM

A neighbour has a 1998 528i which until last week was his daily driver and has around 140,000 miles on the clock.

In the icy weather a hose blew and he tried to drive off the motorway to a service centre where at least he would be able to keep warm. Unfortunately this resulted in a blown head gasket which, at a garage, will cost him more to sort than the value of the car.

Would anyone be interested in it as a possible doner or even for repair as he thinks it's really too good to just scrap.

Located near to Maidstone but would probably have to be towed or trailored. I believe it does run but obviously driving any distance wouldn't really be an option.

I don't know anything more about the car but could probably get some photos and other info if anyone's interested.

John.

chicade - 29/3/13 at 11:05 PM

Before he gets rid remove the thermostat as they are prone to stick shut- in turn it then boils the water in the engine and causes the plastic impeller on the water pump to crack and cause the impeller to slip on the shaft and the coolant to not circulate giving typical head gasket symptoms overheating / pressurising ........ Worth a try new parts would be no more than £50 very rare for these head gaskets to go there pretty bullit proof even when they have been red hot! Not a bad job to do either....

johnemms - 30/3/13 at 10:34 AM

Does the overheating mess with the piston rings 'soften' them?

MarcV - 2/4/13 at 10:12 AM

I agree, these engines can stand a fair bit of abuse. I overheated mine on the Autobahn at rather high speed. Then drove for another 4 or 5km to the nearest exit (didn't feel like standing on the side of the Autobahn at night).

No damage to the engine other than the water pump (which started it) and thermostat. So check these first...

alexpaul2 - 1/6/13 at 04:48 AM

I have also this bmw model, it really good for riding experience.

britishtrident - 1/6/13 at 06:28 AM

Frozen engine = cracked cylinder block

Mark Allanson - 1/6/13 at 08:26 AM

quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
Frozen engine = cracked cylinder block


Don't BMW's have core plugs?

britishtrident - 1/6/13 at 08:57 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
Frozen engine = cracked cylinder block


Don't BMW's have core plugs?


Possibly not they are less on modern engines but worth checking.

Core plugs quite often pop when the coolant freezes but that isn't what they are for.
The holes the core plugs go in they are left by the the "cores" part of the sand casting process.
Cores are 3 dimensional pieces made of sand. The grains of sand forming the core are bound together by binding agent such as clay or oil.
Cores are put in the mould to provide cavities for water and oil ways.

navyseamonkey2011 - 1/6/13 at 10:16 AM

If the head gasket has gone the price of repair for the M52 engine easily outways the cost of a second hand lump,
Im speaking from experience, a mate of mines headgasket failed. to do the job correctly we had to by a vanos seal kit, timing chain kit and headgasket kit. also the cost of having the head pressure tested and skimmed.
The other big problem with these engines is removing the head without wrecking the block.
The head bolts can easily strip the threads out of the block when you try and remove them, especialy if the engine has overheated and the head warps.
There is no cheap repair for this.
saying that a second hand lump is under £400.

britishtrident - 1/6/13 at 11:40 AM

If it was a 100% certain it was the head gasket yes but the engine has been frozen badly enough to split the top hose that spells a cracked block or head or rad to me --- only way to diagnose is to fill the cooling system to the brim and do a cold pressure test to just below the pressure the cap blows off at. But even a pressure test won't give a for certain diagnosis.

Leaks and cracks often don't give visible leaks as when the engine is hot and under pressure the coolant flashes off to (invisible) steam as it escapes.

You can make a proper pressure tester up for about £20 and it will adapt to a cylinder leak down tester.